It's time to go Blu-ray

polksda

Schwingding wrote:

Top of my head:

Kingdom of Heaven
XMen:3
Gone in 60
Underworld:Evolution
Riddick
Into The Blue

Supposedly these are among the best titles according to the rating forum on AVSFORUM.

Typo? CoR is only available on HD-DVD, not Blu-Ray... if you indeed have it on BR, you have one rare disc!!

lanion

The PS3 just got a positive review at Ultimateavmag.com as a BluRay player.

Schwingding

polksda wrote:

Typo? CoR is only available on HD-DVD, not Blu-Ray... if you indeed have it on BR, you have one rare disc!!

Give me a break, I clearly stated it was top of my head! Its ****, not Riddick. All his movies are the same, really.

Ron-P

So tell me, how many of you have multiple copies of the same movie but in all of the different formats?

Part of this hobby is buying the same movie several times. Get used to it or find another hobby.

Don't do it. The lack of decoders for DTS-MA and other high resolution audio formats is inexcusable. And the picture is underwhelming for the most part.

I'm not concerned with higher rez audio formats with Blu. I will upgrade the player when I upgrade to an HDMI receiver, until then a basic Blu player will be just fine.

The first releases got some bad press but I've read nothing but good reviews over the past couple of months on their latest releases.

Ready or not Blu, here I come. Going to pick up a few titles tomorrow, the first will be Ultraviolet.

ledhed

Ron-P wrote:

Part of this hobby is buying the same movie several times. Get used to it or find another hobby.


I'm not concerned with higher rez audio formats with Blu. I will upgrade the player when I upgrade to an HDMI receiver, until then a basic Blu player will be just fine.

The first releases got some bad press but I've read nothing but good reviews over the past couple of months on their latest releases.

Ready or not Blu, here I come. Going to pick up a few titles tomorrow, the first will be Ultraviolet.

I've stayed out of it because of the price and the war between the two. But, PQ doesn't matter a whole lot to me. I love OTA HDTV but, watch most of my TV through the TiVo. I guess I'm a content guy as far as image is concerned (as long as it is decent) but then again, I'm not getting a degree in Film for the PQ

Let us know how Ultraviolet is, it may have gotten much better after the first 30 minutes though I don't know if I could sit through that again.

szhleppy

Have any of you come across a BR player that also does a good job on upconverting...comparable to the Tosh for HD?

venomclan

Ron-P wrote:

Did you buy into VHS? How about SD-DVD? VHS is doomed and SD-DVD will be too, it's just a matter of time. Everything is going HD.

I agree and yes I do have those formats. But they also became the standard for their generation. I am not knocking HD or the decision to go that route. If this particular format of HD, or both of them fail to win the consumer, they are doomed sooner than later, with very little software. VHS and sd dvd, have pretty much any movie ever made available on both formats.

The video technology is changing so fast that all out now is obsolete. What about HDMI 1.3? What about the new hd sound formats? Nothing is standard yet. The PS3 seems to be the best package right now, but it will not upscale.

I hope something standard and accepted is identified soon.

Ron-P

If this particular format of HD, or both of them fail to win the consumer, they are doomed sooner than later,...

With hi-def only growing in the consumer market I highly doubt hi-def dvd will fail, but it will take a very long time for it to get into the masses of households.

...with very little software. VHS and sd dvd, have pretty much any movie ever made available on both formats.

But how long did that take? Even sd-dvd had a very slow start up with very few titles available. We have more hi-def dvd titles out now then sd-dvd in it's first few months of life.

I have no doubt that it will take years for a hi-def dvd format to grow to become like sd-dvd is now and maybe even longer if a universal player doesn't appear. But, I also love this hobby and am willing to risk the monies to get the best possible picture and sound that I can and right now that is HD-DVD and Blu-ray. Like I said, if either or both fail I'll still have the players and movies to watch but from here on out I doubt I'll be buying any more sd-dvds.

I watched The Hulk HD-DVD last night and the PQ/SQ was stunning no way could I go back and watch my sd-dvd of that movie again.

As for the two formats, Blu-ray may have more studio support but knowing Sony's track record I have more faith in HD-DVD winning the war but that's not stopping me from buying into Blu-ray

Ron-P

Bought my first BR titles today...

No player "yet" but it's coming, as soon as I figure out which one, a stand alone for certain, no PS3, mostly likely the Panny. But, I figure might as well start buying the movies.

Yes, Ultraviolet was the first BRD I bought. I sat in CC today and watched about 30 minutes of it on a 50" Samsung and it looked every bit as good as HD-DVD stuff.

scottvamp

HeyRon, seems you are going about this unbias. I will be very interested in your thoughts between the two formats. I would love to see Underworld in HD.

Been enjoying TNT in HD. Matrix series and a few other i can't remember right now. Really awesome quality on my projector.

polkatese

I echo Scott's request, Ron!

Please report back, I've ve been eyeing the Pioneer Elite's unit. It's not out yet, but having several PE brand in the house, I am confident it will be a solid player.

Ron-P

I'll give you guys a side-by-side once I land a player. I'm hoping to find a returned player at BB or CC after the holidays. If not I will just go out and buy one. I was VERY tempted to pick up the Sony machine today but I held back, need to do more research on these before dropping $1k plus.

Ron-P

Well I'm getting a player sooner rather then later.

My wife just got a call from her dad he's dropping off a Xmas check for us to spend on eachother. So, guess what my wife is getting me for Xmas in the next couple of days. Here's what she said "It's smart to invest in both formats", I just about fell over.

Of course now I have to buy an HDMI switcher, an analog 5.1 switcher, two HDMI cables and two more sets of analog cables before I can wire it all up.

Ferres

I'm still on the fence with the formats, though leaning more on blue-ray due to good audioreviews.

It can be an excuse to get a PS3. :P

polkatese

Ron-P wrote:

Of course now I have to buy an HDMI switcher, an analog 5.1 switcher, two HDMI cables and two more sets of analog cables before I can wire it all up.

Deja Vu! I remembered when I had to rig up a switcher to have SACD and DVD-Audio 5.1 setup to one set of input on my B&K Ref 50. Obviously this was before Universal Players invention.

Deja Vu! I remembered when I had to rig up a switcher to have SACD and DVD-Audio 5.1 setup to one set of input on my B&K Ref 50. Obviously this was before Universal Players invention.

sucks2beme

I'm on the side of waiting it out. I'm not a big movie watcher, and up conversion is
enough to keep me happy for now.
Son #1 came over last night hyping BR format. Seems he scored a
new Playstation 3 at $599 price on EBAY with shipping. $599 was the starting bid
with no reserve, and he was the only bidder at the last minute.
Somewhere there's a very upset seller. The guy had sold several other units
at a higher price.

cheddar

scottvamp wrote:

I know exactly how its all going down. Just funny how people are so quick to judge new technology. Their are alot more pro's for Blu-Ray overall.

Yeah, I was noticing the change in tone as well. I think Sony being attached to BR has a lot to do with the initial negativity. From what I hear, the PS3 is a pretty good player compared to the 1st gen stand alones. The only drawback is trying to get HD audio out of it since it lacks the analog outs. But through HDMI you can dump it to a receiver. And since it's HDMI 1.3, when the new receivers come out that can actually decode the new codecs, owners should be in audio heaven...:D. I think that's the way I'm gonna go in the short term. After Christmas, these things should be popping up at retailers all over the place. I have seven friends who I game with. And three of them got them just doing regular Christmas shopping.

Ron-P

I think I'm going with the Sammy. It's got the analog outs and that's about all I need at this time, and, I can land it for around $600. I'll run it for a year or so and then when the second gen Pannys and such come out, I'll upgrade.

cheddar

Ron-P wrote:

With hi-def only growing in the consumer market I highly doubt hi-def dvd will fail, but it will take a very long time for it to get into the masses of households.

Lol. 2 million ps3s shipped by Christmas. 6 million ps3s by Spring. I'd say critical mass by the next Christmas buying season is a done deal. For blu-ray at least...:p.

Ron-P

Where did you read that 2 million PS3's have shipped?

Sami

sucks2beme wrote:

Somewhere there's a very upset seller.

PS3's seem to be available at MSRP so the initial markup time is over. $599 is the 20GB version so he only lost shipping and possible taxes, plus Ebay/Paypal fees. I'm sure he's just happy to get rid of his stock of PS3's now that he has made profit on the other units.

cheddar

Ron-P wrote:

Where did you read that 2 million PS3's have shipped?

It's pretty widely reported. But here's an example of a link:

http://money.cnn.com/2006/12/13/news/companies/sony_sales/index.htm?source=yahoo_quote

And that ps3 review was pretty glowing on its blu-ray capabilities.

Compared to Samsung's BD-P1000 and (briefly) Sony's BDP-S1 as BD players, the PS3 is superior in absolute picture quality to the former, and more than holds its own with the latter. And it kills both in terms of startup and disc access speed and overall ergonomic prowess and stability. It's just bullet proof, and aside from being the coolest looking piece of gear ever, it's the only next-gen player so far that behaves like one in every respect. And of course, its connectivity and audio decoding features are tops too, although you really need an AVR or pre/pro equipped with HDMI 1.1, or later, to unleash its potential.

All of the above would be enough to earn the PS3 a rave review as a BD player even if it were on par with the prices of the standalone BD players. But it's not- even the upscale $600 PS3 is by far the least expensive BD player available.

The PS3 performs like hell and is one of the best deals going. Not that I'd kill or injure someone over one, mind you, but I'm not sure I'd judge anyone who does too harshly after living with it. My thumb's way up on this one- PS3 rocks!

http://ultimateavmag.com/hddiscplayers/1206ps3blu/index.html

Ron-P

It's just too damn bad Sony didn't include analog outs, if they did, I'd get one.

cheddar

Ron-P wrote:

It's just too damn bad Sony didn't include analog outs, if they did, I'd get one.

Do you have an hdmi receiver? After getting an hdmi switcher etc...it may make more sense to just get a receiver. Or wait like I am for the new preamps whenever they release them :rolleyes:. I can do with regular dolby or whatever while I wait for the really good stuff .

Ron-P

I'm holding out for an Outlaw HDMI pre/pro, I don't do receivers in my HT. Plus, I'm in no hurry, I'll upgrade everything to HDMI in a few years. Right now I just want a basic BD player with analog outs, I don't even care if the player is upgradable for the future audio codecs at this point.

cheddar

Sami wrote:

PS3's seem to be available at MSRP so the initial markup time is over. $599 is the 20GB version so he only lost shipping and possible taxes, plus Ebay/Paypal fees. I'm sure he's just happy to get rid of his stock of PS3's now that he has made profit on the other units.

Well, $499 is retail for the 20GB version. So if that's the one he sold, he may have made $100. As far as blu-ray goes, there's no difference in capability between the $499 and the $599 ones. For an extra $100 you get multimedia card readers, 40GB extra, and wireless LAN. But the $499 box still has wired LAN so firmware updates are easy.

Ron-P

Here's a link to how many they have sold, it just cleared 1 million.

http://www.vgcharts.org

cheddar

Nice website. I bookmarked it for future reference. But my guess is that it conservatively lags actual shipments of the consoles since it only references publicly available data and not a company's actual internal figures.

the data on VG Charts is unofficial and in some cases incomplete. How can it be the premier source on the Internet then?

Well, videogame sales data is a very difficult commodity to come by. Each territory has different systems by which data is collected and this data is often in conflict with data released directly from game publishers themselves. Attempting to assemble all these scraps of information has been a mine field that has, until today, been avoided.

VG Charts is the first internet website to attempt to, as meticulously and accurately as possible, collect together in one place all the available videogame sales data from across the world and provide users with a one-stop location from which to find out how there favourite game is performing, gain a better understanding of the market as a whole and compare the performance of different games.

A number of different sources and methods are used to produce the data on VG Charts

Still amazing from those figures that in a month of completely selling out, Sony is now 1/7th of where the 360 is after a year of no competition and a lower price point. Like I said, probably a no brainer for critical mass by next Christmas season and HDTVs ought to be pretty cheap by then too since they've already come down so much this year. All the convergence should make 2007 the year for HDTV, HDMI pre/pro/receivers, and HD players.

And oh yeah, according to that chart, the ps3 has overtaken the 360 in Japan.

360 - 270,000
ps3 - 390,000

Sad, but it is consistent with other reports I've read. The Japanese just can't bring themselves to buy an American made console.

Ron-P

I'll be picking up the Sammy very shortly, within the next couple of days.

I look at it this way, buy the Sammy now and save $500 or more, use it for a year or longer and then when the Sony / Panny 2nd or 3rd gen players come out, use the money I saved now to buy one of those. There's just too many variables between all the Blu-ray players currently and I don't see the value in spending $1k or more on a first gen player.

cheddar

Makes sense. Cut your losses and save for the good stuff. Looks like you're also building quite a library of blu-ray disks. Be sure to report back on what are the best looking titles.